Chasing Connor
by Nicollette Knight
Summary: Travis Stoll wakes up to find his brother missing. Katie Gardner comes running into camp in the middle of winter, claiming someone has stolen Demeter's staff. It's up to Travis and Katie to rescue Connor and the staff. But can they do it without killing each other in the process?
1. Sweet Dreams (Are Not Made of These)

**A/N: I have taken down the previous version of this story and reworked some parts of it. The bulk of the story remains the same; I have just cleaned it up a bit and changed a few things. I am not Rick Riordan and I do not own these characters. This is just my little happy ending for a couple of my favorite side characters. **

**Chapter 1 – Sweet Dreams (Are Not Made Of These)**

_She was standing in a cold, dark room, lit only by torches. In the corner was a large cage, and something was huddled in a ball inside of it. When the prisoner shifted, she realized that it wasn't a _thing_ but a _person_ being held. She couldn't make out who it was, but with a sinking feeling in her stomach she recognized the bright orange of a Camp Half-Blood shirt. A melodious laugh echoed through the cavernous room. _

"_Come, my darling, are you ready to help me yet?" a woman asked from just outside her field of vision._

"_I hope you rot in the pits of Tartarus," her prisoner replied. His voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it._

_The woman tsked. "Now, now, no need to be rude, son of Hermes. It's a simple task. You retrieve your father's caduceus for me, and I let you go. I don't harm you, and I don't harm your brother."_

_He looked up and her dream-self gasped. Connor Stoll's eyes were blazing a brilliant blue as he glared at his captor. "I won't do it. I won't betray my father. Besides, I'm not stupid. If I take it, you'll kill me."_

_The woman moved into her line of sight, though only the woman's back was visible to her. She wore a long black dress and her hair hung in a black curtain down her back. She carried a staff. With mounting horror, the observer realized it was a lotus staff… her mother's. _

"_Then I will make sure your brother brings it to me in trade for you," she said, amusement in her voice. _

Katie Gardner woke with a start. She rolled out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom, where she splashed water on her face. Staring at her face in the mirror, water dripping into the sink, she tried to make sense of the dream. The gods had been silent for the last month or so. Now Katie wondered if it wasn't because there was yet another disaster about to take place. But why would the dream come to her? And who would steal Demeter's staff and Hermes caduceus?

She made her way back to her room and glanced at the clock. It was six in the morning. She looked longingly at her bed, wishing for another couple of hours of sleep. Instead, she went to her closet and grabbed a backpack, then started throwing some clothes and other things in it. Katie wasn't sure what was happening there, but she knew she needed to get back to camp. After packing, she grabbed the closest pair of jeans and hastily pulled them on, along with a t-shirt and sneakers. She braided her long, dark hair and fastened a silver necklace around her neck. The pendent was a cornucopia, a symbol of her mother. Tossing her bag over her shoulder she ran down the stairs to find her father and convince him to take her back to camp.

Travis Stoll awoke, gasping and dripping sweat. The dream had been so real, but how could it have been a vision? He and Connor had gone to sleep after sneaking out last night for some provisions. Looking over at Connor's bunk he couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. Connor had been in the bunk next to his last night, but now; the bed was empty, as if no one had ever slept in it.

Travis leaped out of his top bunk bed, landing with a thump on the floor. He didn't even bother with shoes as he ran out of Cabin Eleven and toward the Big House. "Chiron!" He started pounding on the door.

After a few minutes of banging on the door and yelling, Chiron answered the door. He wore a dressing gown and had curlers in his tail. Any other time Travis would have found this very amusing. "Travis? What's wrong, my boy?" Chiron's tail swished and he tried in vain to stifle a yawn.

"Chiron… Connor… he's gone. Someone… they want my dad's caduceus!" He was stumbling over the words. They wouldn't come out of his mouth fast enough.

"Calm down, child. What happened? Connor was with you last night."

"We went to bed, after… playing a game of cards." Chiron looked skeptical at Travis's hesitation. Travis hurried on with his story. "After I fell asleep, I had a dream. Connor was in a cage and some woman was demanding he somehow get our dad's caduceus. When Connor refused, she just laughed and said that I would take it from him and trade it for Connor. She had some kind of staff… It looked like a flower or something." Travis took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves.

"And when you awoke from the dream, your brother was gone?" Chiron asked.

"Yes! I have to find him."

Just then someone came running over Half-Blood Hill. A long, dark braid streamed behind her as she ran, and she had a backpack bouncing on her back. "Chiron!" she was yelling.

Travis and Chiron watched as Katie Gardner, her face flushed from running, stopped in front of them. She bent double, her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. "Connor… My mother… Hermes caduceus…" Full sentences seemed to elude her.

"Calm down Katie," Chiron said, kindly. "Travis was just telling me about his dream. I am assuming you had the same or a similar dream. It was your mother's lotus staff in the dream? You're absolutely sure?"

Katie nodded. "Whoever she is, she wants to collect the symbols of power of the gods." A horrible thought of this woman having Poseidon's trident or Zeus's master bolt caused Katie to wince. "It can't happen."

"We must find Connor, and your mother's staff," Chiron decided. "Travis, go get packed, I'll have Argus drive you into the city. You two are going on a quest."

Katie's eyes widened as she fully looked at Travis for the first time. He was dressed in a white tank top and baggy gym shorts and he was barefoot. His hair stuck up as if he'd just rolled out of bed, which she realized he must have done exactly that. She quickly turned back to Chiron so as not to stare. "On a quest? With Travis?" Katie sounded nearly hysterical. It wasn't a secret that she had a rivalry with the Stoll brothers. "But where are we supposed to even look? Is Rachel here? Why us?"

Chiron shook his head. "She returned to school. Perhaps you can contact her through Iris-message. She may have some information for you. And it has to be you two. You are the ones that received the dreams; therefore it must be you two that go. All I can do for you is set you up with some nectar and ambrosia, mortal money and drachmas. May the gods watch over you." With that, he went back into the house in search of Argus.

Katie looked uncertainly at Travis. "Well, Stoll, you better go get dressed. Looks like I'm stuck with you."

"Gee, thanks, Gardner. I didn't know you cared." Before she could retort, he turned and walked back toward his cabin.

Katie sat down on the steps, waiting for Argus and Travis to arrive. She thought about her dream. Who would want to disarm the gods? A better question might be who wouldn't? A few minutes later Argus stepped out and nodded to her as he passed. He went around the house to get the camp's SUV. Katie watched the distance, and a few moments later, Travis appeared, carrying his backpack. She stood up and shouldered her own pack, and met him at the driveway just as Argus pulled up. She pulled open the door and climbed in, Travis behind her. Neither spoke the entire trip into the city.

Argus dropped them off at the bus station and handed them another bag. It held a Ziploc bag of ambrosia squares and a canteen of nectar. Two more Ziploc bags held drachmas and mortal cash. Katie stuffed the smaller bag into her backpack and looked at Travis. "Now what?" she asked.

"I guess we try to get ahold of Rachel," he replied, looking around. "We need a rainbow."

They looked around, but there was nothing close to what they needed in the bus station. They walked outside and looked right and left. "Central Park?" Katie asked. "I don't think it's too far from here."

They started walking, but soon figured that the park was farther than they had anticipated. Travis reached out and grabbed Katie's wrist to stop her. A jolt of electricity shot up his arm when his hand came into contact with her skin and he dropped her arm quickly. He looked at her, wondering what she had done, or if she had felt it too, but she was avoiding his gaze. "I'll hail a cab," he said before putting his fingers to his lips and letting out a sharp whistle. He raised his hand and a cab swung to the curb for them.

Travis opened the door and let Katie get in before he climbed in. "Central Park West, please," he directed the driver.

They rode in an uncomfortable silence. When the cabbie let them out at the park, Katie dug out a couple bills to pay him and they both got out. She looked at the entrance and then glanced at Travis out of the corner of her eye. Together they made their way into the park. It only took them a few minutes to find a fountain that would work. While Travis kept an eye out for anything suspicious, or mortals who might wonder what they were doing, Katie fished out a gold drachma. "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering," she said as she tossed the drachma in. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Clarion Academy."

The mist shimmered and suddenly she was looking at Rachel, brushing her teeth. She looked up and gasped, spitting into the sink and looking at Katie like she was crazy. "Katie? What's wrong?" Rachel glanced behind her to make sure she was alone.

"Rachel, I was hoping you could help. Connor Stoll is missing, and whoever took him, also has my mother's staff."

Rachel frowned and then got a faraway look in her eyes. After a moment she snapped back to herself. "I had a dream. I'm not sure how it will help you, but you need to cross the bay. Start on the west and work your way east."

"What bay?"

Rachel shook her head. "I'm not sure. You'll find help along the way. Head south. That's all I know."

Katie sighed in frustration. "Thank you, Rachel." She reached out and put her hand through the mist, dissolving the connection.

Travis came around the fountain and sat down on the edge. "That wasn't much help," he pointed out.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious. I guess we head south." She started walking away.

"Katie!" Travis jumped up and ran after her but she kept on walking. "C'mon Katie, wait up." He finally caught up with her at the corner. "What's your problem?"

She turned to look at him. She met his blue eyes and glared. "What do you think is my problem, Travis? My mother's staff is missing. I'm stuck on this quest with _you_ of all people…"

"Ouch. I'm not that bad, am I?"

"Travis Stoll, do you have any idea at all… forget it. Just forget it. Let's go catch a train." She hailed a cab and climbed in quickly, giving the cabbie their destination.

"Wait, a train?" he asked as they headed toward Grand Central Station.

"Yes, Travis," she explained with exaggerated patience. "A train will be quicker and more comfortable, don't you think?"

He stared at her a moment before shaking his head and leaning back in the seat. "Remind me not to get on your bad side in the morning."

"Well, you're stuck with me for the next few days at the least, so get used to it."

The cab driver left them at Grand Central, and Katie dug out some money as she approached the ticket window. She requested two tickets to the place that would get them farthest south without bankrupting them: Richmond, Virginia. After she paid, was told that the train left in thirty minutes.

Forty minutes later, they sat in their seats and watched as the New York skyline rolled by. "Why do you hate me so much, Katie?" Travis asked.

She glanced over at him; the sincere, pained look on his face startled her. "Hate you? Hate is such a strong word. I don't think I _hate_ anyone," she mused. "But really, Travis, you have no idea what bothers me about you? I mean, besides the fact that you have made it your personal mission to annoy me at every opportunity?" She lifted her hand and ticked them off on her fingers. "The chocolate Easter bunnies. My gardening tools. My shoes and sandals. The…" she faltered. Instead of looking at him, she turned her gaze to the window once more.

For once in his life, Travis kept his mouth shut. This was going to be a long quest.

_Chapter title song credit: – Sweet Dreams (Are Not Made of These) (Eurythmics; Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) album released 1983)_


	2. Bad Company

**Chapter 2 – Bad Company**

The truth was, in all his seventeen years, Travis hadn't traveled much. The trip he and Connor made to Camp Half-Blood when he was thirteen and then a half a dozen trips into Manhattan while at Camp Half-Blood constituted his travelling experience. Considering his dad was the god of travelers, it seemed ironic. Katie had fallen asleep, her head resting on the glass. To try and stop himself from staring at her, Travis was watching the countryside roll by. He was worried about his brother and he had no idea how to go about finding him. He'd never been on a quest, and he liked it that way. It was so much easier to just stay at camp, train, break into the camp store and raid the other cabins. But out here, he felt like he was lost. He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer.

"_Hey Dad, if you're listening, I don't know what to do. I have no idea where to go to even begin looking for Connor. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated." _When he was done, he let himself rest. It might be a while before he had another chance.

The dream was always the same.

_The demigod forces of Olympus were surrounded. They had held out for two days, but the Titan army had pushed them back until they held only twenty feet in front of the Empire State Building. The monsters pressed in, fighting in one on one combat, but as soon as one disintegrated, another one took its place. She was trying to fight off a dracaenae. Poison ivy grew from the street and tangled in the monster's snake trunks. Vines crawled up the snake woman's front, but they seemed to be mere annoyances at best. Katie had never been the best with swords or knives or bows and arrows, preferring the strawberry fields to combat training, but she did her best to use her shield to block the spear that the dracaenae kept jabbing at her. The monster kept pressing her back, farther from the rest of the battle. Suddenly she found her back against a wall. The spear clanged down again on the shield, reverberating painfully through Katie's arm. The snake woman hissed in frustration and surprised Katie by using her weapon to rip the shield away from her body. Katie now stood before the monster, defenseless, and she was sure that this was the end. She offered up a final prayer to her mother. The dracaenae raised her spear in victory and started to bring it down for the killing blow. Katie raised her hands in vain to shield herself. Suddenly, she was covered in golden dust. The monster exploded around her and she was left looking up into the smiling face of Travis Stoll and his sword. He reached out and brushed some dust off her cheek and she drew in a sharp breath. _

"_You have some monster dust on you," he said helpfully._

"_Thanks," she replied shakily. For a moment there was nothing else but them. She stared up at him, noticing for the first time that he had a small scar above his left eye. Why was she noticing this now? He looked like he was about to say something when she yelled, "Travis!"_

_He turned quickly and before the monster behind him could land the blow, he had sliced the monster's head clean off. He turned back to her. "Be careful, Katie. Next time I might not get here in time." He gave her one of his impish grins, leaned in, and before she knew what he was going to do, he had kissed her. _

_She blinked in surprise and raised her hand to her lips, but he was already loping away, hacking and slashing the monsters in his path._

Katie awoke with a start to find Travis snoring next to her, his head on her shoulder. An announcement over the loudspeaker was telling them they would arrive in Richmond in approximately fifteen minutes. "Get off me!" she hissed as she pushed him away.

"Huh? What? Are we here?" he asked sleepily. He yawned and stretched.

"No, it's the next stop. We need to figure out where to go next. Rachel said we needed to go south, but we had to cross a bay. What in Hades does that mean?"

Travis yawned again. "There are lots of lakes; maybe it's one of them. There's always the Gulf of Mexico too."

"So we need to cross a lake or the Gulf of Mexico to find where we're going? Lovely." Katie didn't sound like it was lovely at all.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Travis," she snapped. She stood up and stepped over him. "I'll be back." Katie disappeared down the aisle.

Travis was left in the seats, watching her leave. He wondered what was bothering her. Did she really hate him that much? He tried to remember all the pranks and everything he and Connor had pulled on her. There were the Easter bunnies, and the time he'd stolen her gardening tools. He had put shaving cream in her shoes and vegetable oil on her sandals. She had been about to mention something else, but at the last minute, decided not to. That was the straw that broke the camel's back, he was sure, but he had no idea what he'd done to her.

The train had come to a complete stop before Katie returned. She took her backpack silently when he handed it to her and they got off the train. She glanced around, taking in their surroundings. "You are armed, right?" she asked quietly. She reached for her necklace, reassuring herself that it was still there.

"Of course. I'm not completely inept, Gardner," he retorted.

She glanced around warily again. "Let's get out of here. Something doesn't feel right." She headed for the nearest set of doors. They had almost made it when a voice purred, "Young heroes out on a quest? How lucky for me!"

Travis glanced at Katie, and she nodded slightly. He whirled around and pulled a bronze plated lighter from his pocket. The girl that stood behind him laughed when she saw what was in his hand. "Fire can't kill me, foolish boy," she said. "And even if it could, there isn't much you can do with that," she nodded derisively to his lighter.

"You're probably right," he said with a grin. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Katie slip through the crowd, circling around to the back of the monster. The monster-woman lashed out at him with a clawed hand and he stepped back, narrowly missing being slashed. As he moved, he clicked the button on the lighter and it extended into a full Celestial bronze sword. "But I bet this might hurt a bit," he said with a smirk. He twirled the sword in his hand and took up an offensive stance.

She hissed and stepped back. A look of pure shock crossed her features and she exploded into a cloud of yellow dust. In the space behind where the monster had been, Katie held her bronze dagger. "Next time, make sure you watch _both_ demigods you plan to kill!" She glanced around and noticed they were attracting a little bit of attention. "We better move, Travis," she said. She grabbed his free hand, ignoring the spark of electricity that shot up her arm, and dragged him out the door. She could hear people starting to panic behind them.

They ran as fast as they could, zigzagging through the streets, until they were sure no one was following them. Katie pulled him into an alley where she finally dropped his hand and leaned against the wall. She was breathing hard as she sheathed her dagger.

Travis tapped the hilt of his sword and it turned back into a lighter, which he stowed in his pocket. He leaned against the wall next to her, trying to catch his breath. "We work pretty well as a team."

"It wouldn't do me any good to let you die on the first day of the quest," she replied with a sideways glance at him. "Your sword is disguised as a lighter? Really?"

He shrugged. "It gets through security."

They were quiet as they both regained control of their breathing. Finally, Katie spoke. "We can't afford to take another train. Maybe a bus, but since we don't know where we're going, we'll run out of money fast."

"Leave it to me," Travis said with a grin. He pushed himself away from the wall, left his backpack with Katie, and went to find them a ride.

"Travis!" she called after him. There was no answer. "He's going to steal a car," she said to herself. "Great. Not only are the monsters already trying to kill us, but he's going to steal a car and add grand theft auto to the list!"

Katie continued to rant to herself while she waited for Travis to return. After fifteen minutes had passed, she had worked herself into a fit, thinking he'd been arrested, or worse. "What am I going to tell Chiron? How am I going to get Connor back? Oh gods, what will I tell him?" She was interrupted by a sharp beep. When she looked toward the alley entrance, there was Travis, sitting behind the wheel of a Lexus. Katie paused for a moment, noticing how natural he looked behind the wheel of the fancy car. Shaking her head, she picked up both of their bags and ran to the door. Travis leaned over and opened it for her. "I figured you more for a pickup truck than a Lexus," she said as she slid in and tossed the bags in the back seat. "What took you so long?"

"Yeah, I looked at a pickup truck, but I figured this might be a little less conspicuous," he said as he drove off.

"Wow, that's a pretty big word, Stoll. Conspicuous."

Travis glanced at her and raised a brow before continuing his story. "So _anyway, _I had to switch the plates. It'll make it more difficult to track us. But we're going to have to ditch this one after we cross a state or two."

"My juvenile delinquent cross country quest with Travis Stoll," she muttered.

"Do you have a better way to get us wherever we need to go?" he demanded. For someone who hasn't had much practice driving, he was actually very good.

"No," she replied softly.

"Then do me a favor, Kitty-Kat, and shut up."

"Do _not_ call me that again. You have no rights to call me anything other than Katie. Are we clear?"

He held his hands up in mock surrender. "I hear you, loud and clear, Gardner. Any ideas where we need to go next?"

"Keep heading south. Maybe we'll get lucky and there'll be a 'Bay Lake' or something."

Travis drove them through Virginia. They didn't talk much, but once they crossed into North Carolina, Katie shut off the radio and looked at him. "We've kind of been at each other's throats since we started, but I wanted you to know that I am really sorry about Connor," she said.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah, thanks," he said. He noticed she didn't apologize for 'being at each other's throats.'

"We'll find him," she offered.

"I'm sure we will," he said. _I hope he's still alive when we do,_ he added silently.

"Let's stop and get something to eat. We can find a new ride too," she said, changing the subject.

Travis pulled into the parking lot of a McDonald's off the highway. They went inside and he ordered a Big Mac meal while Katie ordered a chicken salad. While they ate, he scoped the parking lot and surrounding areas for a new car. They didn't talk much during their meal.

After they finished eating, Travis slid behind the wheel while Katie got into the passenger seat. He had been eyeing a strip mall that was across the highway. He figured the employees parked in the back, and they could easily swap cars. "We should be able to swap cars at that strip mall," he said pointing to it. He swung the car across the highway and pulled behind the strip mall. While Travis scouted the cars, Katie grabbed their bags from the back seat. She glanced at the doors lining the back.

"Travis, I'm going to run around to the front and see what's going on. Make sure no one is taking an interest in us. I'll be back in a couple minutes."

Travis nodded and went to work switching out some license plates. He had that done in about five minutes and then went to work opening the car and hotwiring it. He only wished this was like the movies, where the doors were always left unlocked and everyone kept their keys in the sun visor, but alas, this was real life. People were paranoid and locked their cars, so people like him didn't have an easy time stealing them. He had chosen something less flashy this time, a Toyota Corolla. "Yes!" he said as he got the car started. He glanced around to make sure no one had stepped outside for a break, and was surprised to see Katie hadn't returned.

He shut the car off and reached for his lighter. He crept around to the front of the building, but he didn't see any sign of Katie. He started walking along the front of the stores, peeking into the windows. He paused when he found her sitting in a chair in the hair salon underneath the dryer. It really wasn't like Katie to decide to stop and have her hair done. In fact it wasn't like Katie at all. Maybe if one of Aphrodite's daughters were on the quest…

He tried to see if there was anyone else in the shop, but it looked deserted, so he stepped inside. A little bell above the door rang when he opened it. Katie glanced over at him but she didn't say anything. She was trying to tell him something with her eyes, but he had no idea what it was. She kept glancing at the door to the back room. Travis moved closer and found that her hands were tied to the arms of the chair with silver wire. "What is it?" he whispered, nodding toward the door.

She shook her head. He could tell she was terrified. He pushed the button on his lighter, and the sword sprang to life. He gently cut the wires on her left arm. Just then, the door behind him burst open and a woman stood there. "Another customer? How lovely!"

_Chapter title song credit – Bad Company (Bad Company; Bad Company album released 1974)_


	3. Emotionless

**Chapter 3 - Emotionless**

Travis spun around and found himself face to face with a beautiful woman. He held his sword out, keeping her at arm's length. The woman held her hands up in surrender. "Let her go," he said, enunciating each word clearly.

"I will let her go, if you'll stay in her place, Travis Stoll," she smiled, batting her eyelashes for effect.

Travis found himself thinking that might not be such a bad idea. He could stay with her and he would be taken care of.

"Travis, don't listen to her! Think of Connor." Katie's voice pierced through the haze in his brain.

"Yeah, Connor. I don't think I can stay, lady," he said.

"Nonsense. Katherine can go get him and you can stay here with me. I'm much more beautiful than those gods you'd be helping anyway." She spoke so convincingly that Travis started nodding.

"Yeah, don't worry about me, Katie. You go get Connor. I'll be fine!"

He heard wires snapping, but he wasn't aware of where they were coming from. The woman sat him down in a chair and started massaging his shoulders. "I can fix you right up, Travis. Just stay with me."

"Yeah, that does sound nice," he said, dreamily.

Suddenly Katie was right in the woman's face, her dagger at her throat. "I know who you are! You're Cassiopeia, Andromeda's mother. You had your own daughter tied to a rock as a sacrifice! I'll tell you what you're going to do. You are going to let us both go. Forget we ever were here and I'll let you live."

The woman shrank back and started nodding. The moment Katie moved her dagger an inch the woman lunged. She grabbed Katie around the throat. "Foolish girl!"

"Travis!" Katie pleaded with him. Her dagger clattered to the floor as Cassiopeia started choking her. Katie clawed at the other woman's hands, but she had an iron grip.

"Oh, don't worry about Katherine, Travis. I'm going to take good care of her as well. I'll make sure she's more beautiful than Aphrodite herself," Cassiopeia said, putting force behind her words. "You would be the envy of every man, having Katherine on your arm."

"It'll be fine, Katie. She'll take good care of you." He seemed to think about it. "You could be more beautiful than Aphrodite! All the guys will be jealous of me!"

"Travis, she's got you charmed," Katie choked out. If she got out of this alive, she was going to have bruises around her neck and that wouldn't make her very beautiful at all. She wondered how she would explain that one to her dad.

"As if you would have ever made it to Texas anyway," Cassiopeia went on. "She's put many roadblocks in your way. It's much better for you both to stay here with me, where I can take care of you."

"Okay, we'll stay with you," Katie rasped. "Just please, I can't breathe."

Cassiopeia gave Katie a once over. "You need more time under the drier, young lady." She picked Katie up by her neck, showing them both how strong she could be, and threw her back into the chair. Katie gasped for air, and for one terrifying moment she thought she would die. Then the wires were back on her wrists and the drier brought down on her head, this time turned on.

Katie watched in frustration as Travis seemed oblivious to their plight. _Okay, Gardner, think._ There had to be a way to get both of them out of this.

The drier's heat was becoming unbearable, and still she hadn't figured out a way to get herself free, and Travis was no help. He was staring at Cassiopeia, besotted. She had tried talking to him, but everything she said was countered by their captor. Katie was becoming increasingly sure that both of them would die here, in some hair salon in Gods-knows-where, North Carolina. She should have just stayed by the car while Travis did his thieving.

Katie's mouth was dry and her head was so hot. She was beginning to feel light headed. She needed to get out from under the heat and she needed about a gallon of water. Black started to cloud the edges of her vision. "Travis." Her voice sounded weak. "Please."

Travis was intently listening to Cassiopeia's plans for how she would make Katie more beautiful than the love goddess herself. He couldn't wait to see the transformation. He couldn't wait for the guys to see the most beautiful girl in the world on _his_ arm. He was so absorbed in Cassiopeia's ramblings that he didn't even notice the surge of power over by the dryers.

Just before Katie's vision went completely black and she succumbed to the heat, there was a surge of power around her. She had no idea what happened, but suddenly she felt herself getting stronger. She still felt the heat of the dryer but it was a mere annoyance instead of debilitating. She could think more clearly.

She checked to make sure that Cassiopeia was still occupied. A small sapling tree appeared at the base of her chair and Katie willed it to grow up, with a branch slipping between her wrists and the wire. This was either going to break the wire or slice her hand off. The branch grew in size and put pressure on both her wrist and the wire holding it down. She could see a thin line of blood dripping down her hand and prayed that she could make this work.

As the blood flowed more freely, Katie was beginning to think that this was a bad idea. The wire wasn't snapping and she was injuring her fighting hand. Just as she was about to call off the tree, the wire snapped.

She sagged with relief and slid as far down in her seat as she could. The heat was beginning to get to her again. She reached out with the toe of her shoe and could just barely touch her dagger where it had been left on the floor. She managed to drag it slowly across the floor, close enough she could reach down and grab it. Finally she cut herself free of the wires and pushed the dryer back. She glanced around. It surprised her that she had been able to do all that without drawing the attention of the evil woman intent on "taking care" of them. What she found was an empty room.

Katie quickly wrapped her bleeding wrist with a small towel she found near one of the salon stations. She held her dagger in front of her and headed toward the door that led to the room that Cassiopeia had come out of earlier. She reached the door, and listened. She could hear the woman, still talking. She nudged the door open with her toe and peaked in. She found Travis sitting in a chair, his arms and legs secured, but he looked like he was completely fine with the situation. This woman's magic must have been strong to charm a man to his death.

Katie prayed she'd be able to stay silent long enough to rescue them both. She snuck into the room and was almost within range of Cassiopeia when the woman whirled around. "Katherine! How did you manage to get out from under the dryer before I came to get you?"

Katie didn't waste words on the woman; she lunged and managed to land her dagger in the woman's belly. Cassiopeia staggered back, looking at the dagger protruding from her navel. She staggered a few more steps before she exploded in a cloud of dust, leaving Katie's dagger to clatter once more to the floor. "The necklace of protection my mother gave me. Bitch," she answered the empty air.

Katie grabbed it and cut the wires holding Travis. His gaze was clearing as the charm wore off, and he actually grinned. "I guess we're even now. Do I get a kiss now?"

Katie glared at him. "You would have let me die." She turned from him and stalked away, leaving him in stunned silence.

They retrieved their stuff and got into the car. Katie slid behind the wheel this time. "We need to find a place to stay for the night," she said as they continued on. Travis just stared ahead out the windshield.

They drove in strained silence. Katie found a motel off the freeway once they had put a few hours between the beauty shop and themselves. She pulled up to the door. "Please tell me you have a way for us to get a room. Otherwise we're camping in the woods tonight," she said to him, the first words either had spoken in miles.

He looked at her, and she winced when she saw the look in his eyes. "Please, Gardner, give me some credit." He held out his hand for some money.

She reached behind her and dug out her backpack and then some money from it. She handed it to him, careful not to touch him. She watched as he got out and went inside to negotiate for a room. The look he'd given her had been pain, fear, hate and yet something else she couldn't quite place.

Travis returned a few minutes later with a key. Katie parked the car in an inconspicuous spot. The last thing they needed was the cops to find it while they slept. Travis unlocked the door and they stepped inside. It wasn't much, but it had two beds and a bathroom with a shower. At this point, that was all they could ask for.

Katie tossed her bag on a bed and flopped down next to it. Travis didn't say anything as he took his bag and disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Katie to think about what in Hades that look he'd given her meant.

When she heard the shower start, Katie sighed and walked to the window. Outside, it was just like any other run down motel on any other freeway in the United States. A parking lot with a few cars in it, the cars rolling by all night on the other side of the parking lot, a soda machine over by the office. She walked over and dug in her backpack, coming up with some change. Grabbing the key, she slipped out the door and went to the soda machine to get a couple Cokes.

Unfortunately her excursion to the soda machine had only taken a couple minutes, leaving her alone with a can of Coke, the sound of the shower running and her thoughts. She reached into her bag and dug out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt along with clean underthings. She ate a small bit of ambrosia and removed the bloody towel around her wrist. The wound was healing, though she would probably have a scar. When Travis stepped out of the bathroom, she brushed past him and shut the door firmly behind her.

Travis was lying on the other bed, staring at the ceiling when she emerged from the bathroom. Katie dug in her bag and found some camp rations and pulled them out. "Best I can do for dinner," she said, tossing one at him. It hit him on the chest, but still he didn't move.

Katie frowned as she opened hers and started picking at the tasteless food. "What's your deal?" she asked, snottily.

Travis turned his head. His gaze was blank. He didn't reply as he sat up and tore open his camp food. He cracked open the Coke Katie had bought for him earlier and stared at the curtained window.

Katie didn't know what to do. A prankster Travis she could handle. An angry Travis she could handle. She could even handle a sad Travis. But this Travis… who looked at her with no feeling what so ever, who wouldn't talk to her, she couldn't handle this Travis.

"Are you PMS-ing? Are you wishing you'd stayed with Cassiopeia?" Katie was picking at him now, trying to provoke a response. Anything was better than this emotionless Travis.

That last line got his attention. He swung his eyes around and pierced her with his gaze. "You said something to me back in New York. You told me that I had no idea and to just forget it. Take your own advice Kitty-Kat. You have no idea. Forget it," he spat. He turned away from her again.

He had closed her off again, but if he thought she'd let this go, he had another thing coming.

_Chapter title song credit: – Emotionless (Good Charlotte; The Young and the Hopeless album released 2002)_


	4. Burning in the Skies

**Chapter 4 – Burning in the Skies**

Travis could tell that Katie was just biding her time until she unleashed the full force of her fury upon him. He figured he had maybe another ten minutes of peace, tops. He continued to stare off into space and tried to organize his thoughts but there was only one there: _How could she think that he would have let her die? _

Katie sat on her bed, fiddling with the soda can in her hands. It was empty, and she kept squeezing it, causing the aluminum to make annoying noises as she shifted it around. She took a deep breath and looked over at him again. His curly hair was still damp and hung across his forehead haphazardly. His eyes were as blue as the sky and about as blank as a cloudless day. Finally she couldn't stand it anymore.

"Travis Stoll, what in Hades is your problem?" She ticked them off on her fingers as she spoke, "we escaped Cassiopeia, so far the cops haven't been on our tail and we're still on track to find your brother. So far, you have nothing to be upset about."

Travis heaved a sigh. She had given him five minutes. He swung his gaze around and looked at her. "Can you just let it go?" he asked, deceptively quiet.

She raised an eyebrow at him, missing the thread of angry violence in his quiet tone. "Not likely. Now tell me what your problem is!"

"Katie-Rose, did it ever occur to you that you might catch more flies with honey? You're bossy and demanding. Do you blame me or anyone else for not wanting to confide in you?" Despite the fact that Travis was extremely annoyed with her, he couldn't stop himself from using the endearment. He wondered if she was going to smack him.

Katie seemed taken aback by his accusation. "You think I'm bossy and demanding?" her voice rose slightly.

He smirked. "Kitty-Kat, I don't _think_ it, I _know_ it. And so does half the camp." Maybe if he went on the offensive she'd just drop the whole 'why are you upset' line of thinking.

"First off, _stop calling me that! _I don't even know why you call me that. My name is Katie, not Kitty. Secondly, I am _not_ bossy and demanding. I want to help. That's why I am asking what your deal is." Her voice went up another octave. If she wasn't careful they'd be screaming at each other soon.

"Katie, you have done everything _except_ ask me nicely what my 'deal' is. It's bad enough my brother is missing, but I'm beginning to see that being thrown on this quest with _you_ is quite possibly as bad as the fact my brother was taken."

Katie blinked and blinked again. She opened her mouth to say something but no words came out. Then she blinked once more and Travis realized she was blinking back tears. He had hurt her. Badly. "Do you really want to know – " he tried to ask. He wanted to make amends, bring back the peace. Stop the tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks.

"Don't." she held up her hand to stop his words. "I get it, Travis. You don't like me. I'm bossy, demanding and annoying. You probably think Chiron is punishing you by making you go on this quest with me. Well, it's not like I wanted to be here!"

Oh Zeus, he had really messed up now. "Look, Katie, I'm… I'm sorry. You are bossy and demanding, but in a good way!" he was trying to make her smile, anything but the tears that were trickling down her cheeks. "I don't think this is the worst thing that could happen, Katie-Rose," he said softly. "Honestly. I didn't mean it."

She reached up and wiped away the tears. "You meant it," she said with conviction. "If it wasn't lurking there in your subconscious… Never mind, Travis. We better go to sleep." She tossed her garbage in the wastebasket and got under the covers, turning off the lamp on her side. "Good night," she said, her voice trembling.

Travis sighed as he heard her turn away from him in the bed. He reached over and turned off the lamp. He lay there for a long time, listening to her try to hide her tears. Finally, he said softly, "Katie, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean it. What had me so upset…" he paused, and took a deep breath. "I just couldn't believe that you thought I'd have let you die. I mean…" he trailed off, but he was thinking of that day in Manhattan, near the Empire State Building. "I mean, I'm sorry." When she didn't reply right away he turned over on his side, facing away from her and closed his eyes.

Travis woke up to Katie smacking his arm. "Ow!" he muttered sleepily. He rolled over and looked up into the furious eyes of his currently least favorite demigod. "What'd you do that for?" he asked, yawning and sitting up.

"We gotta go, Travis," she snapped. "I saw a cop drive by a little while ago, and it looked like he was checking out the car. Time to move." She pushed him toward the edge of the bed.

Travis yawned once more and rolled out of bed. He blinked at the bright light streaming in as Katie peeked out the window again. "C'mon, Katie, chill."

"Get dressed, we need to go. Now," she ordered as she threw a few things in her bag. "I think we're going to have to walk."

Travis grumbled as he changed and packed up his backpack. Once he was ready, they both shouldered their bags and left, leaving the key on the TV. Katie said they should go around the back of the motel, where the trees were denser, and as they rounded the corner, Travis saw from the corner of his eye that the cop had returned. He grabbed Katie's hand, ignoring her protest and pulled her toward the trees. "The cop is back," he said quietly once they were out of immediate danger of being discovered.

Katie yanked her hand from his and stalked off in a direction she hoped was south. She didn't care if Travis followed her or not. She was still mad at him. Or was she more upset with herself? She had heard his words last night, his apology and his reasons for being upset, but she wasn't ready to talk about it yet. She still wasn't sure how she felt about his admission. Why had he been so upset she would think that? He _had_ been charmed and wasn't doing anything at all to try and get them out of their predicament.

Travis followed Katie, wondering just what _her_ problem was. _He _was the one who should be upset. She had accused him of not caring if she lived or died! How could she even think that? He sighed and jogged to catch up with her. "Katie! We need to talk," he demanded.

She glanced over at him before looking straight ahead again. "There's nothing to talk about, unless you want to talk about how we're going to get to Texas now. I think we should stop stealing cars for a while. Someone might start putting two and two together."

Travis sighed but decided to play her game. "Well, we can't walk to Texas," he pointed out. "So what do you suggest we do?"

Katie was at a loss. They didn't really have the money to buy a bus ticket or a train ticket. They had spent the last of their cash aside from a little bit for food on the room the previous night. They didn't have a car. Demigods or not, hitchhiking was a _bad_ idea. She shrugged and kept walking. "We'll figure something out. Just keep walking."

They walked for hours, keeping to the tree line. Travis kept up a steady stream of grumbling, mostly about how they could have stolen another car and been halfway to Texas now, but they were probably only a few miles from the motel instead. Finally Katie spotted a convenience store. "We can go grab something to eat from there," she said, pointing to the back of the store.

"And a ride, _please_," Travis whined.

"We'll talk about it once we eat," she replied firmly. Wow, maybe he was right. Maybe she was bossy. Wait, did she just think that Travis was right about something? About _her_? Holy Zeus, it must be the hunger getting to her.

They jumped a drainage ditch and walked around to the front of the store. As they went inside, Katie noticed a sporty looking car, fancier than most in the lot, parked near the door. She swept the room with her gaze while Travis made a beeline for the candy aisle. It would be a miracle if he didn't end up with a stomachache before dinner.

Trying to eat somewhat healthy in a convenience store is tough, to say the very least. She managed to find a box of Triscuit crackers and a block of American cheese. She grabbed a couple bottles of water and brought them up to the cashier, watching for Travis. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, and bumped right into the person in front of her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said quickly, bending down to grab the things she had dropped.

"It's okay," he replied as he bent to help her.

He handed her the cheese and she looked up into one the most beautiful pair of brilliant blue eyes she had seen. She blinked. "You… you're… You were in that one movie… Gamer." She stumbled over her words.

"Uh, yeah," he said, looking uncomfortable. He looked slightly more at ease when she mentioned Gamer, as if he'd been expecting a different movie to come out of her mouth.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I guess you get that a lot. It's just that my step-brother loves that movie, I'm sure I've seen it a million times. You were great in it," she offered.

He smiled. "Thank you. I'm Logan," he said offering her hand. After a moment he withdrew it and just smiled when he noticed her hands were still full.

"Katie," she said trying not to blush. "Wow, how weird to run into you," she paused and giggled nervously. "I mean that very literally too. What are you doing here in…" she trailed off. "Where exactly are we?"

"Middle of Nowhere, North Carolina," he supplied. "And I'm here because I'm shooting a movie, which requires a nice 'woodsy backdrop'" he said, using air quotes. "What brings you here?"

"Oh no, a friend of mine and I are on a road trip." Just then, said friend elbowed her in the side. "Ow! Travis!" she said turning to glare at him.

"Are you ready? We need to get going," he said, swinging his gaze toward the cashier. Something seemed off about her. She was watching them with a little too much interest.

Katie glanced at her snack, then the cashier. "Yeah. It was nice to meet you Logan," she said before she placed her things on the counter.

Katie paid for her things, and made sure Travis did too. They had made it out the door and were walking across the parking lot when all Hades broke loose. An ear-splitting roar rang through the air, followed by a large crash. Travis and Katie whirled around to find the entire front of the convenience store a gaping hole. Half in and half out of the store stood a giant dragon-like creature. A column of flame erupted from its mouth, and a car that had been sitting at the gas pumps caught fire.

Travis dropped his bags and reached into his pocket. Before Katie could even say a word, he was running toward the creature, sword raised. Katie looked at the mortals, running away screaming. She had no idea what they saw, but it wasn't pretty. She set her bag down next to Travis's and drew her dagger from the sheath at her ankle. She jogged toward the fight, watching in amazement as Travis poked and prodded the beast, dodging its tail and fire. She hadn't realized how good Travis had gotten at sword fighting.

"It's belly, Travis!" she yelled as she got closer. He didn't break his concentration but she saw him nod and try to duck under its front leg to get at the soft underside of the belly. The dragon was quick for its size, and lashed out with the same foot, kicking Travis. Katie watched him go flying. She turned her glare on the dragon, and found it watching Travis fly through the air with satisfaction in its eyes. Katie took that moment of distraction and ran toward its side, hoping to duck under its belly in the middle. As she approached, the end of its tail whipped out and knocked her feet out from under her. She landed hard on her front, her dagger skittering across the pavement. All the breath left her body and her eyes fell shut.

Katie lay on her stomach, her cheek to the asphalt. She opened her eyes slowly, and blinked them into focus. She had no idea how long she'd been out but the dragon's attention was being taken away from her. She didn't recognize the one who had its attention but the sword was wielded by a dark haired person. He was jabbing at it, trying to make it mad. She didn't understand why he didn't go for the belly until she saw someone she did recognize doing just that. While the dragon was distracted by the dark haired person, Travis ran right between its front legs and jabbed upward with his sword. For good measure he jabbed it again, and suddenly it was raining monster dust.

Katie reached out and slowly pushed herself over onto her back, wincing. A minute later she was surrounded by Travis and the dark haired boy, who turned out to be Logan the movie star. "Are you okay?" Travis asked anxiously.

She sat up with the help of Logan and nodded. "Yeah… got the wind knocked out of me. Are you okay? You got kicked pretty hard."

"I'm fine," he said and Katie thought she saw him blush. She did a quick inventory and saw a few shallow cuts and bruises from his fight but nothing life threatening.

She turned to Logan and blinked. "You're a demigod?" she asked, astonished.

He shrugged and gave a half smile. "Guilty. Son of Athena."

"I wouldn't have guessed," she said honestly.

Travis retrieved her dagger and handed it to her, then offered a hand to get up. She took both gratefully. "Thanks for the assist," she said to Logan.

"Yeah, thanks," Travis echoed, though Katie thought it sounded a bit insincere.

"No problem. Three children of the Gods probably threw that monster into a frenzy. Glad I could help," he replied.

Travis looked around at the carnage. "We better get out of here. The cops will be here soon."

Katie glanced around and nodded. "Let's go. Thanks again, Logan. Great to meet you!" She and Travis headed off in one direction, Logan in another. They were almost to the edge of the parking lot once again when an explosion rocked the ground. Both of them were thrown off their feet and tumbled through the air.

_Chapter title song credit: – Burning in the Skies (Linkin Park; A Thousand Suns album released 2010)_


	5. If I Die Young

**Chapter 5 – If I Die Young**

Death for a demigod was a lot like life.

"_They are coming," the woman told Connor._

_Katie could see him huddled in a corner of the cage. His curly brown hair was matted with dirt and his shirt was filthy and ripped in places. When he turned to face his captor, she could see how hollow his cheeks were. He hadn't eaten in days at least. The smudges of dirt on his cheeks made him look younger than his sixteen years but a hatred that was older than time glowed in his blue eyes. _

"_Travis would never betray our father or the other gods, not even for me," he told her. _

"_You would be surprised at what one will do when motivated by love. By taking the one closest to him, I control him. Even now, he and the girl are on their way to rescue you. If he brings me Hermes' caduceus all three of you can go free. If he doesn't, you can die. It matters not to me. You are just a means to an end, young son of Hermes."_

_Connor turned away from the woman. _

Katie groaned. She had thought that when she died, it wouldn't be so painful. Weren't you supposed to be free from your earthly body, and therefore pain, when you died? Every muscle and bone in her body ached. And where was Charon? Wasn't he supposed to be bringing her to the Underworld by now? She tried to open her eyes and they finally obeyed. She blinked and squinted in the brightness. When she tried to move, her head pounded like there was a jackhammer behind her eyes. The best she could determine she was laying on her back in a field. She tried to remember what happened.

An explosion.

Travis.

Katie sat bolt upright but before she could locate him, she passed out again from the pain the movement had caused her.

When Katie came to again she had no idea how long she had been out. A few minutes, an hour? "Travis?" her voice sounded rough, like she hadn't used it in a long time. She sat up, much slower this time. "Travis?!" she sounded panicked, even to her own ears. She very slowly pushed herself to her feet and immediately fell to her knees when she tried to put her weight on her right foot. She had either sprained or broken something. She started crawling toward where she had seen Travis laying during the second she had been on her feet.

She encountered Travis's backpack, holes burned in it, but otherwise still in decent shape, as she made her way toward him. She dragged it along with her as she crawled toward him. When she reached him, she settled herself next to him. She looked him over, trying to gauge his injuries. He was dirty and had a few more cuts and scrapes but otherwise looked okay. Nothing was sticking out at odd angles. "Travis," she said, touching him gently.

Nothing. She nudged him harder. "Travis!" Still no response. She grabbed his backpack and hauled it next to her, hitting him in the head accidentally. "Sorry! Sorry," she said, but it didn't matter, his eyes remained closed. She couldn't tell if he was breathing. Before she opened his bag, she put her hand on his chest but she still couldn't tell. If he was breathing, it was faint. She leaned over and placed her head on his chest, her ear to his heart.

Closing her eyes she breathed a silent prayer of thanks. His heart was still beating, weak, but there. "C'mon Travis," she whispered. A single tear traced down her cheek and landed on his t-shirt. She sat up and stared at the spot soaking into his shirt for a moment before she started digging in his backpack for nectar and ambrosia.

_He was sure he was dead. He was in the most beautiful place, with bright blue skies and emerald green grass. A lake glittered in the distance. He felt a sense of calm like he had never felt before. Perhaps this was Elysium. _

"_You're not in Elysium, Travis," a voice off to his left said._

_Travis whirled to face the woman who had spoken. _

"_You are not dead because I need you to continue on this quest with my daughter." The way she said it made him wonder if it hadn't been Katie on the quest, she would have let him die. "If Helen is able to acquire what she wants, she will raise him from the underworld. This would be disastrous. The dead need to stay dead or the natural order of things will be severely disrupted." She paused. "More so than it already is, considering what has been happening."_

"_Lady Demeter," Travis said politely. Yes, even Travis Stoll knows when to show respect. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand."_

"_You will young hero. I must go. Make your way to Texas, there is someone there who can help you. And Travis, please keep my daughter safe."_

_Demeter disappeared and Travis felt himself falling. _

He could feel something being dripped into his mouth. Reflexively he swallowed, tasting cherry slushee. He peeled his eyes open and found Katie staring down at him. "Hi," he said, rather stupidly. It took him a moment to register his surroundings. "Where are we?"

Katie sat back. Her eyes looked red but it could have been a trick of the late afternoon light. "Not far from the convenience store," she said. "Or what's left of it. The grass hides us pretty well as long as we don't stand up."

He sat up, slowly. His head hurt, though he suspected it would have hurt a lot more if Katie hadn't forced nectar down his throat. "Are you okay?" He noticed the bruises still around her neck from their fight the day before with Cassiopeia had been joined by cuts to her face and arms. Her wrist bore a scar from where she had managed to free it from the wires and save both of them. Her clothes were dirty, torn and burned.

"A little banged up. I think I broke my ankle during the explosion. I ate some ambrosia, but I'm going to need some crutches or something for a day or two. Other than that, I'm good, nothing a little ambrosia can't fix. How do you feel?"

"Like I got ran over by an eighteen wheeler." He looked himself over, taking stock of his injuries. "Looks mostly superficial."

Katie nodded. She nudged his bag toward him. "I fished out the ambrosia and nectar but that's all."

"Where's your bag?" he asked.

Katie shrugged. "I didn't come across it but I haven't been able to really look." What she meant was _I haven't even bothered looking because I was afraid you were going to die if I left you for even a second. _"Plus, I can't exactly walk. I think we're going to have to set up camp in the woods over there. I can't go anywhere in this condition."

Travis stood up, testing his limbs. They held him. "Alright, I'm going to help you up. You can lean on me. We'll find your bag and find someplace to set up. Hopefully by tomorrow the ambrosia will have healed up your ankle enough so we can move."

Katie allowed him to help her up. His arm slipped easily around her waist and held her upright. She limped along slowly with his help. They found her backpack a few yards in the opposite direction from where she had woken up. It was pretty battered, but it looked like most of what was inside was salvageable.

Slowly they made their way to the trees. "Just let me sit here, you find a clearing," she said.

"No way. If something tries to attack you, you'd never be able to fight it off in your condition. We go in together or we stay right here for the night."

Katie weighed her options. The truth was, even that small of a walk had worn her out and her ankle was killing her. She made a move to try and keep going but she nearly fell over an exposed tree root. Travis's arm around her waist was the only thing that kept her upright.

"Okay we'll stay here." Travis helped her sit down at the base of a tree.

Katie watched him as he went about securing the area as best he could. She could see the smoke still rising from the ruins of the gas station. She leaned her head back against the rough bark of the tree and closed her eyes. "Whoever has Connor knows we're on our way," she said, mostly to fill the void.

"I know."

"She wants you to trade your dad's caduceus for your brother. She said that we would all go free if you brought it. If you didn't, she said we'd all die." She opened her eyes to gauge his reaction.

Travis's mouth tightened but he gave no other outward sign of hearing her. "We won't die," he muttered. "I promised her I'd keep you safe."

"What? Who? What?" Katie was confused.

"Nothing," he replied. "It's going to get cold tonight. I don't think we can risk a fire. Will you be okay while I try to find us some things to keep us warm?"

Katie looked at him skeptically. "You didn't want to leave me here to try and find a less exposed place in the woods, but you'll leave me to go steal some things to keep us warm?"

"Katie," he said, clearly exasperated. "There's no way you could make it into the woods with your ankle. If you tripped you could hurt it more. Besides, I see some houses on the other side of the highway. I'll just go see what I can dig up."

Katie sighed. "Is there any other way? I don't want to steal."

"_You_ won't be stealing. But unless you can magically produce money in that beat up backpack of yours, no, I don't think there is another way."

Katie waved him away and closed her eyes, dismissing him.

Travis sighed and made his way toward the houses. He found one where no one was home. Picking the lock on the back door easily, he crept inside and started rummaging around the kitchen for a junk drawer. He found one, but what he was looking for wasn't present. He snuck through the rest of the house and made his way upstairs. There he found a linen closet, where he found some extra blankets and sheets. He took both before going into a bedroom. The first room belonged to a young girl. Nothing in there would work. He closed the door again and went into the next room. It was her parents' room. In the closet he dug out a couple of sweatshirts from the back, hoping they wouldn't be missed.

Back in the kitchen he raided the fridge and the cupboards for some food supplies. He wrapped everything in the sheets, which he fashioned so he could easily carry his loot. He relocked the door and headed back to Katie.

While Travis was robbing a house, Katie sipped some nectar. She hoped this would speed the healing of her ankle. This was taking an entire day out of their quest, and Olympus only knew how much longer the woman who had Connor was going to wait. She dug in her bag and found another t-shirt that was in a little bit better shape than the one she was currently wearing. She changed and shoved the battered one back into her backpack. It had been her favorite t-shirt until today. Now it was dirty and ripped and had burn marks in the back.

She leaned back against the tree and closed her eyes. She felt the hot sting of tears and she didn't try to wipe them away. What was she doing out here? She was a daughter of Demeter. She wasn't a powerful demigod. All she had was an affinity for plants and flowers. Look what had happened when she had tried to help with the dragon. She'd been knocked out of the game in the first round.

All of her self-doubt was still on her mind when she opened her eyes. She was startled to find Travis staring down at her. He looked uncomfortable and after a moment she realized it must be because the tears were still streaming down her face. She hastily reached up and dashed them away. "What?" she asked in a cool voice.

He tossed a bundle at her. "Got ya a sweatshirt and a blanket. Some food too," he added. He chose for the moment to ignore what he had come upon.

"Thanks," she replied before opening the bundle. The sun was sinking fast and she was starting to get cold. Inside the bundle she found a sweatshirt that was two sizes too big for her and a white flowered comforter. After only a moment's hesitation she put the sweatshirt on and wrapped herself as best she could in the comforter. "We should bring this stuff back to the house before we leave," she said.

Travis had donned a sweatshirt and wrapped himself in a green comforter. "Yeah, yeah."

Katie rolled her eyes. After a moment she sighed. It was going to be a long night. "Travis?"

"Yes, Katie-Rose?"

"I'm sorry I thought you would let me die. You don't have to prove yourself to me. I know you would never do that."

Travis sighed as he leaned back against a tree near hers. "It's not you I have to prove myself to, Katie. But your apology is accepted."

Yep, it was going to be a long night.

_Chapter title song credit: – If I Die Young (The Band Perry; The Band Perry album released 2010)_


	6. Meet You There

**Chapter 6 – Meet You There**

Two days later found them traveling once more by stolen car. Katie was sitting in the front seat, her head against the cool glass of the window, staring at the world rushing by while Travis drove. Hermes must have been looking out for his son, because they had managed to steal and ditch several cars without being caught. They had even come to an uneasy truce.

The morning after the explosion Katie had woken up to find she was wrapped tightly in the comforter Travis had brought her. The strange part had been that Travis had been next to her, with his comforter wrapped around them both. He said that she had been shivering and he was sharing body when she asked. Katie hadn't pushed the issue. Instead she'd unwound the blankets and tentatively stood up, relieved to find her weight supported by her ankle.

They had quickly packed up their meager camp and Travis had brought the things back that he'd stolen and left them on the back porch at Katie's insistence. Afterward, they had gone in search of transportation. That day had been pretty uneventful. They hadn't talked of anything except their friends from camp and other trivial things. They avoided the topics of themselves and Connor. They took turns driving and sleeping and now, on the second day after the dragon disaster, found themselves just outside the Texas border.

"Hey, Katie?" Travis's voice interrupted her reverie.

"Yes, Travis?"

"Where do you think we need to go now?" he asked.

Katie had no idea. Everyone had said Texas. Well here they were, and Texas was a huge state. Where would they even begin to know where to go? She sighed. "I guess we just keep following the road for now. Maybe someone will appear and tell us where to go." She was joking, but considering their parentage, stranger things had happened.

Travis shrugged and continued following the road. He was thinking about stopping to trade cars when he heard the deep, even breathing of Katie sleeping. He glanced over and took in her profile. With her eyes closed and sleep relaxing her, she looked younger than her seventeen years. Her dark hair fell over her shoulder. He noticed the newly acquired scar had faded and was hardly noticeable and her hands, which he'd noticed were constantly in motion since the explosion, were resting peacefully in her lap. "Rest well, Katie-Rose," he said quietly. He turned back to the road.

_Katie found herself once again in the crypt. Connor sat in the corner of his cage. He was covered in grime but his blue eyes still held the spirit of someone who wasn't giving up. Maybe it was because he knew Travis and Katie were on their way to rescue him. _

_The woman came into view again. "They're in Texas, child. It won't be long. Once they find my husband, he will point them our way."_

"_Why would you want them to find Menelaus? Don't you think he's going to be a little upset with you? He's going to send them to return you to the Underworld."_

"_Oh I am sure he'll be very upset with me. And they can certainly try to send me back to the Underworld, but I assure you I'm not that easy to kill, Connor Stoll."_

Katie gasped and her eyes flew open. The car had stopped and Travis looked at her. "Helen…" she breathed.

"What? What are you talking about?" Travis asked.

"Helen of Troy. She took Connor. But why?"

Travis didn't seem surprised. "The dead must stay dead. It will upset the natural order of things," he quoted.

"What are you talking about?" Katie was confused.

"Nothing. So where is good old Helen keeping my bro?" Travis asked flippantly.

"I don't know. But apparently Menelaus is also back from the dead, and he'll help us."

Travis leaned back in the seat. "I doubt we can just look up Menelaus in the phone book."

Katie shook her head. "No, but I have an idea. We were told to cross a bay. Head east, toward the Gulf of Mexico."

Travis shrugged and started the car again. "We're going to have to switch cars soon," he said as he started toward the Gulf.

They switched cars and stopped for dinner. After dinner, Katie took over while Travis stretched out in the backseat. She drove the long, winding freeway, lost in thoughts about how they were going to kill Helen. Helen was a daughter of Zeus, if her memory was correct, which meant that she could be killed by celestial bronze. That was helpful. She tried to think of anything else that would give them an advantage over Helen. Maybe they could use Paris as a bargaining chip somehow. Katie wasn't sure how though. The man was dead. She would have to think on it some more.

Katie turned the radio on low and found a station that was playing classic rock. Travis was snoring in the backseat, and her eyes were starting to droop. She opened the window, letting the cool night air rush past, drowning out the radio. She could really use some caffeine right now, but they were out of Coke and Travis wouldn't let Katie touch Mountain Dew after she had gone all hyper on him yesterday. They had lost a couple hours of travel because she had been unable to sit still in the car. This, and the explosion, was why they were pulling an all-nighter on the road tonight. They were running out of time. Her dream earlier told her as much. Connor couldn't hold out much longer, Katie was sure of it.

Katie pulled off the highway for gas about five in the morning. She filled the tank and paid with what little money they had left. Travis was still sleeping in the backseat and she envied his demigod-dreamless sleep. They were about an hour away from the Gulf, if her estimation was correct. She wished they could take a shower and get a proper night's sleep. They were going to need their strength for the coming battle.

Before she could start the car, Travis woke up. "D'ya want me to take the wheel?" he mumbled, his voice slurred by sleep.

"I don't know if I'd trust you to drive right now, Travis," she retorted. She held up a bottle of Coke. "I'm good, I grabbed some caffeine."

Travis shrugged. "If that's what you want," he rolled over on his side, which Katie found fascinating that he was able to do in the car given his size, and fell back to sleep.

Katie started the car and drove away. Another hour on the road, she kept telling herself. Just one more hour and they'd see the Gulf, and hopefully all would be revealed as to how this was supposed to help them.

Travis woke up to some sappy song on the radio. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat up, yawning. "Where are we?" he asked.

"The Gulf is right there," Katie said, pointing out the windshield.

"What's that?" Travis asked, pointing toward a large structure that looked out of place in this small coastal town.

Katie pulled off to the side of the road and squinted. The town lay in a valley that ended at the Gulf of Mexico. But down there, on the outskirts of the town, near the coast, was a large building that looked almost like… "Is that a _castle?_" Katie asked incredulously.

Travis crawled into the front seat, nearly kicking Katie in the head in the process. She smacked him in the arm. He stared out the window. "Helen's husband was the King of Sparta. If history is repeating itself… Do you think it's possible he lives there?"

Katie glanced over at him. "You actually paid attention in class?"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh please, you seem to think I'm an idiot. This is my history as much as yours, Kitty-Kat."

"I don't…" she shook her head and sighed. "Let's go see if anyone is home, shall we?"

Katie drove up to the gate surrounding the castle. It must look like a mansion or something to those who couldn't see through the Mist. They stared up at the gates, but they didn't move. After a few minutes Katie sighed and backed away. "Let's get rid of the car, we can walk back."

They ditched the car and grabbed their gear. They shouldered their packs and started back toward the castle. When they approached the gate, a camera trained on them. An electronic voice spoke off to their left. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Travis Stoll and Katie Gardner," Travis said. "We're looking for the king of the palace."

There was a minute of silence. Finally the gates groaned open. Travis looked at Katie. They both shrugged and walked through them, listening to the gates clang shut behind them.

When they entered the grand foyer of the castle, they were met by a man. "King Menelaus will be with you shortly. Perhaps you'd like a moment to freshen up?" He pointed them toward a door, and when Katie opened it she found a huge bathroom.

Before Travis could say a word, Katie shut the door in his face. She took the time to wash up as best she could and combed the tangles out of her hair. She dug out the least dirty set of clothes she had in her backpack and changed. When she emerged ten minutes later she felt almost human again.

Travis took about five minutes before he emerged, looking semi-human again himself. As if on cue, the man who had met them at the door appeared and led them into a room that held a throne. "King Menelaus will be with you shortly."

Travis and Katie looked around the room. Though they were in an ancient Greek castle, it had all the comforts of modern life. Katie suspected that most of those that had been spewed from Hades were enjoying what modernity had provided.

A door banged and an imposing man in an Italian tailored suit swept in. He had dark hair and piercing eyes. He sat on his throne and looked down at the two teenagers before him. "Travis Stoll, son of Hermes. Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter. I was told to expect you. How can the King of Sparta be of service to two young demigods?"

"We… we need to cross the Gulf of Mexico," Katie said getting right to the point.

Menelaus frowned. "Why don't you just drive to Florida?" he asked reasonably.

"We would, but we were told we had to come by water. Prophecies are strangely specific like that," Travis said.

"I do have a boat going across the Gulf," Menelaus said. "You could ride over on it. I warn you to stay out of the way though. My soldiers won't take kindly to a couple of kids getting in their way."

"Thank you, your Majesty," they both said.

"Don't thank me yet. I need you to do something for me in return."

Katie and Travis both smiled tightly. "Of course, Your Highness. What can we do for you?" Katie asked.

"My wife is trying to raise her lover from the Underworld. I want you to kill her. She must not bring Paris back."

"You want us to kill your wife?" Travis asked.

"I know it sounds harsh, but I also realize our story played out three thousand years ago. There is no need to play it out again. If Helen is stopped, our story will cease. It will save many people."

"She has my brother, your Majesty. I don't plan on going easy on her," Travis promised.

"Ah, excellent! Now, let me offer you rooms to rest in. The ship leaves at sunset. I will have someone wake you and bring you to the docks."

"Thank you King Menelaus," Katie said.

A moment later the king had disappeared and the manservant was back, leading them to their rooms.

_Chapter title song credit: __– Meet You There (Simple Plan; No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls album released 2002)_


	7. Riptide

**Chapter 7 – Riptide**

Katie was thankful for a shower and a bed, but the King's hospitality went above and beyond. When she emerged from her shower wrapped in a fluffy white robe, she found two clean outfits lying on the bed. Katie was so grateful her eyes stung with unshed tears. Without bothering to get dressed, she fell into bed wrapped in the robe and fell into a deep, and thankfully dreamless, sleep.

Travis had been skeptical, but Demeter had directed him to King Menelaus so he accepted the man's hospitality. Besides, a bed and a shower would be awesome right about now. After his shower, he found two new outfits lying on his bed also. He immediately swapped the towel around his waist for the shorts he found on the bed and then crashed, wrinkling the rest of the new clothes.

He dreamed of Katie, but not in the demigod way. There were no instructions, no warnings. It was just him and Katie, back at camp, sitting on the beach watching the sunset. He knew it was a dream because she wasn't even yelling at him. She almost seemed to be enjoying his company.

He had to admit that he'd learned a lot about his Kitty-Kat on this trip. He'd been lost in his dream, reluctant to let it go, but slowly consciousness had returned. He'd slept for seven hours. That wasn't too bad for a life and death quest. Now he laid there, thinking about Katie, the dream, and what all of it meant to him. Before he could come to any conclusions, there was a knock on the door. It was his wake up call. It was time to set sail for Troy. Well Florida.

Katie and Travis met in the grand foyer. They each had a new backpack, filled with the clothes given to them by the king, along with fresh nectar and ambrosia. A few other necessities rounded out their belongings.

Travis glanced at Katie and gave her a small, reassuring smile. She returned it, but her eyes looked terrified. This quest was quickly coming to a close, and in the end, someone was assuredly going to die. She could only hope it was Helen. She couldn't even think about the fact that it could easily be Connor or Travis or herself. Travis reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it. Instead of yanking her hand back, she squeezed back, glad to have the contact. It was time for the final leg of the journey.

The trip to the dock was short. Katie gazed in awe at the Greek warship. "Amazing," she whispered.

Travis looked from her to the ship and back. He didn't see what was so amazing about it, but the look on Katie's face made that completely okay with him.

They were herded onto the ship and given a bunk. A trunk to store their bags sat at the foot of the small beds. The captain told them to make themselves scarce and stay out of the way. Unsure of what to do, Katie and Travis made their way to the top deck. Greek soldiers were running all over, not paying attention to them. Katie drifted to the railing and looked to the west, where the sun was setting beneath the horizon. They had talked little since they had met up in the foyer. Now, they had plenty of time to talk, and Katie had no idea what to say.

Travis sank down and leaned against the wall. He pulled his knees to his chest. A moment later, Katie sat next to him, taking up the same position. They sat with mere inches between them, but Katie felt like it was a gulf as big as the one they were sailing across.

"What's wrong, Kitty-Kat?" Travis asked her. She was staring vacantly into space.

Katie opened her mouth to rebuke him for the nickname but decided against it. Sometimes you have to pick your battles and this wasn't one of them. "Someone is going to die on the quest, Travis. What if it's one of us?"

"Won't happen. I'm too charming and good looking to die and Connor's too funny to die. The world would be a horrible place without us in it. No way would the Gods allow either of us to die. You…" he glanced over at her and grinned. "You're too stubborn to die, Katie. And if I have learned anything about you in the years we've known each other, you won't let either of us die, because you have a good heart."

Katie sat speechless. She wasn't sure what to say to that so she asked a question instead. "Do you think you can kill Helen?"

"I can do anything I need to, to save my brother," he replied.

"We'll save him, Travis. We have an advantage over Helen."

Travis looked at her sharply, his eyebrow arched. "We do?"

Katie grinned. "Of course we do. She's been dead for three thousand years. Things have changed a bit since our friend Helen walked the earth."

Travis couldn't help grinning back. "Very true. When'd you get so smart, Gardner?"

She leaned over and bumped his shoulder with hers. "I've always been this smart. You would know that if you spent more time talking to me, and less time tormenting me."

"But it's just so fun to torment you!" he protested. "Besides, that's a two way street Katie. If you wanted to talk, you could have come up to me any time and talked."

"Who said _I_ wanted to talk to you? You're the one wondering why you never noticed how smart I was. Every time we're near each other at camp we're fighting, or you're making fun of me or pranking me. Why would I subject myself to that willingly?"

Travis opened his mouth to say something and shut it again. "I'm sorry about that. Sometimes I… well sometimes I just don't know what to say to a pretty girl, so I rely on teasing and pranks to get her to notice me." Wow. He couldn't believe he just said that. Out loud. To Katie Gardner of all people.

To his surprise, she blushed. Or he supposed it could have been the fading sun. "You don't have a problem talking to the Aphrodite girls," she pointed out. Travis imagined he heard a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"They…" What could he say? The Aphrodite girls were gorgeous but they weren't beautiful like his Katie-Rose was. Katie was beautiful inside and out. And if he didn't watch it, he was going to start calling Katie _his_ to her face. And then she'd yell at him and probably beat his face in. He had better be careful. "They're shallow. Most of them don't care about anything but themselves."

She turned to look at him and found herself once again noticing the scar above his left eye. She reached out hesitantly and ran her finger over it. "What happened here?"

Travis closed his eyes as Katie touched him. "Hmmm? Oh, I took a hockey skate to the face when I was nine." He grinned when she looked horrified. "Connor and I were at the rink with our buddy. My friend fell and I tripped over him. Managed to nick me right in the forehead with his skate. Unfortunately that's not as cool as say… getting a scar from a dragon claw or something."

Katie thought about that for a moment. Then she nodded, more to herself than anything. "Travis? Why did you kiss me back in New York? During the Titan War?" she asked out of the blue.

Travis was taken aback by her question. "I… I…" he stuttered. He could feel the heat creeping up his neck and into his cheeks. "I thought we might die."_ Nice answer, Stoll. You're never gonna get to kiss her again if you keep talking that smoothly. Especially after that scene in the beauty salon._

Katie didn't speak for a moment. "Do you…" she swallowed. "Do you regret kissing me then?" she asked quietly. She wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Yes, bec-"

"You do?!" she interrupted. Her voice was full of pain. Now she absolutely refused to look at him.

Travis sighed. "Katie. Katie, look at me. Please."

Katie kept her head turned.

Travis reached over and took her chin, turning her face toward him. She resisted at first, but he wouldn't give up. She slowly raised her eyes to meet his. "You didn't let me finish," he said quietly. He let go of her chin and reached up to push a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "The reason I regret it is because of this." And he leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers.

Katie made a surprised noise in the back of her throat but after a moment she relaxed into the kiss. Her eyes drifted closed, her arms wound around his neck and her fingers tangled in the unruly curls of his hair. She felt his hand in her hair as his other arm went around her waist, tugging her closer.

She wasn't sure how it happened, but somehow she ended up in his lap, her arms around his neck, his around her waist. She was afraid of how _right_ it felt. When they finally broke apart, they were both breathing with difficulty. She leaned her forehead against his, opening her eyes after a moment and looking into the depths of his blue ones.

"I regret it," he whispered, after catching his breath, "because _that_ should have been our first kiss."

Katie blinked and then quickly slid out of his lap and stood up. Without looking at him again, she walked away.

Travis sat there, stunned, watching her go. What had he done? He played the scene back in his head, trying to pinpoint exactly where he'd gone wrong and couldn't figure it out. He pushed himself to his feet and started to chase after her.

Katie sank down on the bunk she had been given and flung her arm over her eyes. What had she been thinking? Travis Stoll? She sighed and let her mind roam. In her mind's eye she saw all the times at camp that they argued. The scene during the Titan War. After they had arrived in New York City and the jolt of electricity she had felt when he touched her. How hurt he'd been when she thought he would let her die. When she had thought he was going to die. And then she saw once again, the kiss they had just shared. Holy Zeus, did she _like_ him? What did that mean? She could just imagine her siblings at camp reacting to the news that she liked Travis. She could imagine the entire camp reacting to the news. She could feel herself blushing at the mere thought of it.

"Katie?" Travis called as he came down the stairs to the bunk area.

Katie groaned and rolled over on her bunk. "Go away Travis. I don't want to talk to you right now."

"Kitty-Kat, tell me what's wrong. Please?"

"Go away."

"Katie…" he pleaded.

"Travis, just go away!"

Travis watched her for another minute. When she refused to turn over and even look at him he shook his head. "This isn't over, Katie," he muttered ominously. Turning silently on his heel he walked away from the stubborn daughter of Demeter.

They spent the entire next day on the boat avoiding each other. Katie stayed in her bunk most of the day while Travis wandered from bow to stern so many times he lost count.

No matter how many ways she thought about it, Katie couldn't avoid the conclusion: she liked Travis Stoll. And she would be damned to Hades if she let him know that.

"Katie!" Travis pounded down the stairs. "It's time." He looked directly at her.

Katie couldn't look him in the eye for fear she'd give away her newfound feelings. She busied herself packing and repacking her bag. When she was satisfied, she ran nimbly up the stairs without a backward glance.

Travis watched her retreating back and shook his head. He threw the last of his stuff in the bag and followed her up the stairs. He found her at the bow, her hair blowing in the wind as she watched the ship make its way to the dock. "Katie," he walked up behind her slowly. When she didn't turn, he stood next to her, careful not to touch her. "I'm scared," he admitted.

"Me, too," she replied. "But we'll get through this. We didn't come all this way just to stop now."

"I'm not going home without my brother."

"I never expected anything less, Travis."

_Chapter title song list: __– Rip Tide (Sick Puppies; Tri-Polar album released 2011)_


	8. Cuts Like a Knife

**Chapter 8 – Cuts Like a Knife**

Katie had been surprised by Travis's admission. It wasn't like a guy, especially a guy like Travis Stoll, to admit they were afraid of anything. As they watched the Greek soldiers go about their duties to dock the ship Katie was hyper-aware of how close Travis stood to her. She took a deep, silent breath and nudged him toward the plank that connected the ship to the dock. "Let's go," she nodded to the soldiers waiting for them to disembark.

They stood on the dock a few minutes later, looking at the back of what appeared to be a college campus. "This can't be right," Katie remarked.

Travis reached for her hand, but stopped himself, letting it fall back to his side. "Maybe the king is trying to get us out of the way. Helen is his wife, after all. He doesn't want us in the middle of their domestic dispute?"

Katie glanced his way and half smirked. "Yeah, I guess that is always a possibility, but the king struck me as a little more trustworthy."

"Of course he did," Travis mumbled to himself. They walked up a long, winding pathway from the water toward the buildings. They were quiet, each lost in their own thoughts. Travis wondered what the king had to gain by dropping them off in the middle of a college campus. They weren't even old enough for college yet, though he doubted the king had their educational interests at heart when he deposited them here.

"Travis, look," Katie grabbed him, her fingernails digging into the soft underside of his forearm. Her other hand was pointing to a sign that said "Troy University".

"Oh you have _got _to be kidding me," he said. When Katie didn't let go of his arm, he reached over with his free hand and gently pried her fingers loose. He looked at the angry red half-moons that had been marked into his skin, and then at Katie. She looked down at her hand, a strange look on her face before she looked back to him and dropped her arm to her side.

"Let's go find Connor," her voice held more confidence than she felt.

Travis followed Katie's lead. He wasn't sure how they were going to find Helen in this maze of campus buildings, but he figured Katie had some idea, the way she was marching through the walkways.

In truth, Katie had no idea how to find Helen. She was going into this blindly, but she felt that she needed to be strong. It was finally time to prove to the world that she wasn't just good at growing plants and flowers. She was Katie-freaking-Gardner and she was more than just a flower-growing daughter of Demeter. She led Travis along one walkway and then another, looking for something, anything that would give her a clue as to where Helen might be.

In the end it was Travis who solved the mystery. As Katie was about to walk by, he reached out and grabbed her wrist, jerking her to a stop. He nodded to the building in front of them. The telltale signs of ancient Greek architecture were there, and Travis just _knew. _He could feel it in his bones that his brother was inside. He tugged her toward the doors before dropping her arm and reaching into his pocket. He saw Katie out of the corner of his eye stooping to grab the dagger that was strapped to her ankle.

Travis pushed the door, and it squeaked open. He rolled his eyes. Could nothing ever go right? He paused in the doorway, Katie at his arm, but nothing came to attack them. Travis frowned and glanced cautiously left and right before moving forward. He could sense Katie behind him and when he looked to her she nodded before she sneaked off away from him. He walked slowly through the maze of hallways, his senses hyper-alert to the threat of danger.

Travis couldn't understand how the monster caught him off-guard. Maybe he'd been too worried about losing Katie. At the last second he heard the slither and Travis spun, bringing his sword up. He barely managed to block the downswing of the incoming sword. The snake woman grinned with a horrible half laugh, half hiss. Travis's arms shook with the effort it took to keep the dracaenae's blade from slicing him in half.

"Congratulationsssss for making it thisssss far, demigod." She pressed her advantage, forcing her blade several centimeters closer to Travis's neck.

Travis leaned back, the snake-woman forcing him to take a half step back. "Hey, thanks for that," he said. "Don't suppose you'll let me go find Helen without trying to kill me?" He saw a flash behind the dracaenae and grinned at her. "It's been fun," he quipped before using a burst of strength to force her away from him and right onto the tip of Katie's waiting blade.

"Thanks for the assist Kitty-Kat. We make a pretty BA fighting team." Travis wiped his forehead, his arm coming away with golden monster dust.

"Anytime, Stoll. Lets' go get your brother. My life just wouldn't be the same without the both of you to torment me."

Travis watched her walk away. After a moment he followed her down a set of stairs that echoed ominously. At the bottom, a heavy steel door was propped partially open. "That's never good," he muttered as Katie heaved it open and stepped through.

"Either Helen is incredibly stupid or incredibly cocky," Katie whispered when Travis stood beside her in the dark corridor. "One monster to protect the upstairs?"

Travis shrugged as they continued down the hallway, shoulder to shoulder. "She probably figures that we'll deal my father's caduceus for Connor's life."

Katie looked at him from the corner of her eye, trying to gauge if that was a serious threat. The last thing she needed was Travis trying to deal rationally with Helen, an irrational, power-hungry, pissed off, dead-for-three-thousand-years demigod. "You do realize that even if you brought it to her she's going to try and kill us all, right?"

Travis gave Katie a look. "Of course. You don't seriously think that little of me after all this, do you Katie?"

She ignored his question. "Let's get this show on the road, Travis." Katie stalked off down the darkened passageway.

They met two hulking Cyclopes at the entrance to the room Helen awaited them in. Of course the giants tried to kill them, because no demigod quest is complete without an attempted assassination by a Cyclops.

"Demigods are yummy!" the first one proclaimed as he reached out for Katie. She was able to dodge his grasp, but he did snag her backpack. As he started to lift her off the ground she wiggled loose of the straps holding it to her back and fell to the floor, rolling out of the way of the other giant's foot.

Travis let out a battle cry and charged straight for the one that had grabbed Katie's backpack. Just before he could stab the giant, he was swatted away by a huge hand. Travis went flying, thudding hard against the wall before falling to the ground in a heap.

Both Cyclopes had their attention on the wounded demigod. It gave Katie an opportunity to hide and figure out a battle plan. She waited until one of the Cyclopes had picked up Travis, reaching out to hang on, being lifted in the air with him. "We eat good tonight! This one mine, the other yours," the one holding Travis said.

"Where did the other one go?" the second Cyclopes asked, looking around him. He picked up one foot and then the other, checking the bottoms of his feet to see if he had stepped on the missing demigod.

Luckily, Cyclopes weren't smart as a general rule. They were more focused on Travis than on trying to find her and it gave her the opportunity to sneak up behind one. A moment later, the first Cyclopes let out a horrible scream before dissolving into dust. Travis fell to the ground, and Katie winced. He'd be lucky if he survived this, and it was her fault.

"Brother! What happened to you?" the other one looked frantically left and right.

"He didn't watch what he ate," Katie said, appearing at the Cyclops feet. She stabbed her dagger into his calf up to the hilt. The Cyclopes screamed and hopped on his good foot until he ran into the wall, falling backward. He hit his head on the concrete floor and it bounced. His head rolled to the side, his one eye dazed as Katie walked up and stuck in her dagger. It was the last thing he saw.

Katie ran over to her pack and dug out the nectar. She went to Travis and gently lifted his head into her lap, dribbling some of the amber liquid into his mouth. "Come on, Stoll, we're not done yet. I need you to wake up."

Travis's eyes fluttered open and finally focused on Katie's intense green eyes. He had a splitting headache. "Wha… wha happened?" he asked, and his words sounded funny, even to him.

She smiled and he thought he saw relief in her eyes. "Oh you know, it's not a demigod quest until someone is almost killed by a Cyclopes," she said shakily. "We have one more monster to face. Can you sit up?"

Travis forced himself to sit, and then lay back down, his head in her lap again. "Dizzy…"

"Come on, Travis, she's right through that door. Do you want me to save Connor all by myself?"

He did. His head was killing him and he couldn't see straight. But there was no way in Hades he was letting Katie walk into that bitch's lair by herself. "Gimme some ambrosia."

She handed him a small square and watched as he nibbled on it. Katie kept glancing at the door behind them, expecting something else to come out and attack them.

After Travis finished his ambrosia square he struggled to sit up again. A few minutes later he felt less dizzy and when he tried to stand up, he found he could without falling over. He retrieved his sword and nodded to Katie, who shouldered her backpack. They stood in front of the door that would lead them to Helen and more importantly, to Connor.

The door creaked as it opened, revealing the dark, stone chamber that both Katie and Travis had dreamed of. And there, in the corner, his orange camp shirt nothing but rags, was Connor Stoll. His face was black with dirt, his hair matted to his head and he looked like he had bruises, both fresh and old. But his blue eyes blazed with that unmistakable, mischievous light that belonged only to the Stoll brothers. Connor had never given up hope that Travis and Katie would rescue him.

"Connor!" Katie and Travis both ran to him. Katie reached through the bars and hugged him tightly before being pushed out of the way by Travis. Katie dug in her bag for anything that would open the door while Travis gave his brother a hug.

"Travis Stoll! How lovely of you to finally join your brother! And you have brought Miss Gardner as well! Fantastic!" Her voice bounced off the stone and reverberated.

Travis turned, putting himself in front of where Katie was still trying to find something to spring the lock. He drew his sword and pointed it at Helen. "The famous Helen of Troy, I guess?" he asked. He didn't need to ask. The face that launched a thousand ships was as beautiful as it had been three millennia ago. He only did it to draw the attention to himself and away from Katie.

Helen's eyes flashed fire before she put a benevolent smile on her face. "Did you bring the caduceus of Hermes, Travis?"

"You know, I thought about it. I really did, Helen. But I decided that you were probably going to kill me anyway. So why would I betray my father just to die?"

Helen tsked. "I thought you were smarter than that, Travis. Now I _will_ have to kill you." She slowly drew a beautifully crafted, celestial bronze sword.

Travis lunged at her, and Helen blocked the swing. They engaged in a swift, furious battle. Travis was very good with the sword, but Helen was no slouch in that department either. Katie had two hairpins she had dug out of her old, ripped up jeans pocket in the lock of the cage. She worked them around, trying to spring the lock. Who knew she'd need to learn how to pick a lock?

"Katie, you need to position the pins differently," Connor said.

Katie followed his instructions and felt the lock give just as Helen let out a yell and swung her blade straight for Travis's head. Katie watched in slow motion as Travis stepped back, avoiding being sliced in half, but catching the tip of the sword at his temple and slicing down. He fell to the floor, blood coursing down the side of his face.

"NO!" Katie screamed. The dagger that had settled close on the floor next to her while she tried to pick the lock was suddenly flying through the air.

Helen whirled toward Katie's scream and the dagger caught her in the shoulder. She dropped her sword as she reached up to grasp the knife that was buried to the hilt. She pulled it out with a high-pitched screech and held it high, running full tilt at Katie.

Katie scrambled backward, her back hitting the bars of the cage. She pressed back against it as far as she could go, but it wasn't going to save her from the madwoman coming at her with her own dagger. Katie squeezed her eyes shut and held her arms up in front of her, prepared to feel the sharp sting of the blade slicing her skin.

The pain never came. After a few moments, Katie opened her eyes and looked up to find Helen dropping the dagger. It clanged on the stone floor. The beautiful woman looked at Katie in shock as she crumpled to her knees. Behind her, Travis placed his foot on her back and pulled his sword out. Blood covered his face and t-shirt but he grinned at her.

"I promised, Katie-Rose. I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

_Chapter title song credit: – Cuts Like a Knife (Bryan Adams; Cuts Like a Knife album released 1983)_


	9. Safe and Sound

**Chapter 9 – Safe & Sound**

He was a mess, covered in dirt, blood and monster dust, but at that very moment, Travis Stoll was the most beautiful thing Katie had ever seen. She pushed herself to her feet and jumped for him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Caught off guard, Travis stumbled back a couple steps and dropped his sword before he caught himself and hugged her to him. He closed his eyes and breathed in, committing this moment to memory, because he was sure that once she realized what she was doing, it would be over.

Connor cleared his throat. "I don't mean to break up your little hug-fest, but shouldn't we be going? I don't know about you, but I'm sick of this place."

Katie pulled away from Travis and busied herself with grabbing her dagger and putting it away. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks as she picked up her backpack and stuffed everything back inside that had been flung out in the search for something to pick the lock with.

Travis watched Katie before turning to his brother. "You don't happen to know where our friend Helen was keeping her stolen Goddess staff, do you?"

"All I know is that I woke up in this cage. Helen always came from that door," he nodded toward the other door in the room.

Katie ran for the door, her pack bouncing against her back. She pulled open the door and stopped. For living in the basement, Helen had spared herself no luxury in this room. "How did she manage to do this without anyone knowing?" Katie wondered aloud.

Travis stepped up behind her. He looked into the room and let out a low whistle. "This is a room fit for a queen, even if it is in some dark, forgotten basement." He stepped around Katie, careful not to touch her.

She was acutely aware of how close he stood to her. When he moved, she could feel the loss of his body heat and in a strange way it made her feel a little lost too. She shook the feeling off and went further in the room, her gaze touching everything, looking for Demeter's staff.

It didn't take them long to find the staff. Connor presented it to Katie with an exaggerated bow. "Your staff, milady."

Katie rolled her eyes and took it from his hands and then flung her free arm around his shoulders. "Let's get you home."

As they were making their way off the campus, trying to figure out if they were going to have to steal cars all the way back to New York, a brilliant flash lit the night in front of them. They all closed their eyes reflexively, and when they blinked them open again, none were surprised to find Demeter in front of them. Travis and Connor stood back as Katie approached her mother.

"Mother." Katie held out the staff. "I believe this belongs to you."

"You have done well, Katie. This was a difficult quest to undertake, and you completed it with grace." Her gaze may have strayed to Travis, but Katie wasn't sure. Demeter accepted her staff and looked fully at the Stoll brothers. "Travis Stoll, you have done well. You have my thanks and my blessings. Connor Stoll, I am sorry you had to endure your captivity. You also have done well. I cannot take you back to camp, but I can ensure you will get there safely."

As the goddess started to glow again, all three turned their heads away. When they looked back, Demeter was gone and they had all been placed in fresh jeans and Camp Half-Blood t-shirts. When Katie looked inside her backpack she found three tickets to take the train back to New York City.

A cab ride paid for by Demeter found them at the nearest train station boarding the last train of the night for the Big Apple. They found a car that wasn't occupied and stored their few belongings. Before they had gone two miles, Connor was sound asleep, laying across the seat on one side of the car.

"Thank you, Travis." Katie tentatively slid her hand across the seat toward him.

Travis looked down at her hand and then up at her. Was she offering her hand to him? He kept his eyes on her face as he slowly slid his hand to hers, just barely letting the sides of their fingers touch. He held his breath as he waited to see what she would do. When her small fingers entwined with his, he exhaled and squeezed her hand. "You don't have to thank me, Katie-Rose. I promised I would take care of you. I could never let anything happen to you."

The train ride was long, and all three were exhausted from their ordeal. Connor was snoring in his seat and across from him Katie was asleep with her head on Travis's chest. Travis was half sitting, his arm around Katie. He had found a pillow in the overhead compartment and had that between his head and the window. He found himself tired, but unable to sleep.

"You did well, son. I'm proud of you."

Travis rolled his head and blinked to focus his eyes on the god of thieves. He smiled slightly at his father. The one thing he wanted more than anything, even Katie Gardner, was for his dad to be proud of him. "Thanks, Dad."

"And you managed to secure Demeter's blessing. That is no easy feat, my son. She doesn't care for my children much." Hermes was perched on the end of the seat where Connor slept. "I know I don't have to tell you to treat her right, Travis. Be patient with her. She likes you, but she's not sure how to react to this. You two have antagonized each other for so long; she's having a difficult time coming to terms with the change in your relationship. She'll come around though. Maybe in time for the prom." Hermes winked at his son and stood up. "You'll be reaching New York soon. You should get some rest." He snapped his fingers and then he was gone.

The next time Travis opened his eyes he noticed two things: The sun was setting, and Katie was now sitting as far away from him as she could get and still be in the same train car. Travis yawned to hide the stab of pain that went through him at the loss of warmth her body had impressed upon his chest. "Mornin' Kitty-Kat," he said, trying to sound normal.

"Hey," she replied.

Travis shifted to sit upright, wondering if his conversation with Hermes had been a dream. And if it was, did it really matter? He studied her while she fidgeted, wondering what she was thinking. It was confusing to him how she could go from holding hands to being stand-offish. He tried to remember what his dad had said. Be patient, Katie was still trying to figure out their new relationship. "Are we almost to New York?" He asked.

It was Connor who spoke. "Yeah we'll be pulling into Grand Central soon. I hope we don't have to hitchhike to camp."

Travis shrugged and tried to stretch. "I have a feeling everything will work out." He grinned a little. It grew wider when Katie gave him a strange look.

A voice came over the intercom telling them they would be reaching the station in five minutes. Katie didn't look at either boy as she gathered her things. She wondered how long it would take her father to get to the city to pick her up. As they disembarked a few minutes later, she dug change out of her pocket. "I'll catch you guys later. Connor, glad to see you in one piece." She glanced at Travis before her gaze slid away. "Later, Travis." Before either boy could say anything, Katie walked away from them.

_Chapter title song credit: – Safe & Sound (Taylor Swift featuring The Civil Wars; The Hunger Games soundtrack released 2012)_


	10. Epilogue - Big Night

**Epilogue – Big Night**

Travis was disappointed, but not surprised, that Katie hadn't returned to camp with them. He was also disappointed, but again, not surprised, when she didn't call or send him any letters. He wasn't sure what he had hoped for, but some form of acknowledgement would have been nice.

It had been months since the quest and even he realized he'd been moping about the camp. Travis figured it was a good thing it had been winter and the summer campers weren't around. He would have had to pretend to be the jokester with no worries when all he felt like doing was sitting by the lake watching the day pass. Connor and the rest of the year-round campers pretty much left him alone. He was pretty sure he'd heard Connor tell the others that he'd gotten dumped by Katie and Travis didn't even bother to correct him.

It was surprising to him, then, when he had a dream in the middle of May. In his dream, he was visited by both his father and Demeter.

"_Travis, it's time. Tomorrow night is the prom and she doesn't plan on going. Only you could change her mind."_

"_Every girl should go to her senior prom. Even my daughter." Demeter added, though it looked like it pained her to admit that it was Travis who would be taking her. _

"_The prom? I don't have any clothes to wear. I've never been to a prom!" Travis protested. It wasn't that he didn't want to see Katie… it was that he didn't like to dress up._

"_We will provide you with what you need. Take care of her Travis. You promised," Demeter reminded him. _

"_You'll be picked up in the morning and prepared for the evening. Have fun, son." Hermes winked and both gods disappeared._

When Travis woke, he wondered if had been an actual dream and not a demigod dream. He had never heard of the gods setting up someone to go to prom in a dream before. Besides, that sounded more like Aphrodite's domain than the god of thieves and the goddess of the harvest. He wasn't even sure that Katie's prom was tonight. He hopped out of bed and was met at the door by Argus who silently held up a bag and a hanger. Travis blinked and stared at Argus. Argus just returned the stare, his hundreds of eyes blinking. Travis shivered and took the offered items and followed him to the SUV.

The drive was long and silent. Travis spent it wondering how he was going to just show up on her doorstep. By the time Argus dropped him off, he still didn't know.

He had a few hours to kill, so he decided to wander the town, get a feel for the place. Katie lived in a fairly small town and he found the school easily enough. Travis chuckled to himself when he saw the kids decorating for the big night. It gave him an idea.

The sun was setting when Travis walked up the steps to Katie's porch. He stood there for a moment fiddling with the cuffs of his tux and his bowtie, trying to calm his nerves. He took a deep breath. This feeling of anticipation was one he knew well. It was the same feeling he got every summer on the morning that the summer campers arrived. The same feeling he got on the morning he knew he'd get to hang out with Katie for the entire summer.

Travis straightened to his full height and knocked on the door, trying to look confident that Katie wasn't going to open the door, see him standing there and slam the door in his face. The seconds ticked by so slowly that by the time the door was opening, he was sure he'd been standing on the porch for an hour.

When the door swung fully open, Travis found himself face to face with Katie. Her green eyes widened in surprise as she stared at him through the screen door. "Travis! What are you doing here? Is something wrong? Is Connor…?"

Travis grinned, the impish grin he shared with his siblings lighting up his face as his nervousness melted away. The familiar feeling he got from just being near Katie came over him. "Nothing is wrong except that I heard that your senior prom is today and that you aren't going. I'm here to take you."

"You're here… to take me to the prom?" She looked so surprised; Travis had a hard time not laughing. "How did you even… Never mind. My mom, your dad… they are kind of omniscient, aren't they? I'm not planning to go, you know. I turned down three guys who asked me."

"Of course you did. You were waiting for me to swoop in and escort you." Travis's eyes gleamed with mischief as they fell into their old routine.

Katie shrugged. She didn't want to let him know how close to the truth he was. "You might as well come in." She pushed open the screen door to allow him to enter. "I don't really have anything to wear though. That whole not planning to go thing and all."

Travis smelled victory. "Katie, you could go to that dance in sweatpants and you'd still be the most beautiful girl in the room. It doesn't matter to me if you wear a fancy dress or a pair of jeans and a t-shirt." He grinned. "I wish I was in jeans and a t-shirt right now."

Katie couldn't help but grin. "You look nice in your tux."

"Only nice? I was going for suave and debonair," he mock whined.

She reached out and patted his arm. "You look very debonair, Mr. Stoll. Now, if you have a few minutes to wait, I'll see if I can find anything decent to wear so I don't embarrass you at the prom." Katie showed him the living room and then disappeared up the stairs.

Travis waited in the living room, wondering where the rest of Katie's family was and why she was home tonight instead of with them. He didn't have a lot of time to dwell on the question because shortly after she had disappeared up the stairs he heard the distinct sound of high heels descending them. He stood and went to the base of the staircase.

When she appeared, Travis couldn't take his eyes off of her. Her dress was floor-length and emerald green, the same shade as her eyes. It was halter style and when she reached the floor, he could see that her back was bare except for the single, delicate gold chain that ran from the neckline down the middle of her back and attached at the waist. Her hair, normally in a long braid, was free and loose about her shoulders in soft waves. She wore a gold ring on her right hand and her camp necklace as her jewelry.

Travis had to grin when he spied her necklace. He reached out and picked it up with his thumb and forefinger. He ran his thumb over the smooth beads. "Nice necklace, Kitty-Kat."

She just grinned and shrugged.

He dropped her necklace and reached up to his own neck where his was hidden under the collar of his shirt. He pulled it free and when she saw it, she smiled. "We've survived worse, right? Prom should be nothing." she asked.

He offered his arm and she accepted it. They strolled out of the empty house and to Katie's old car. It wasn't much, but it would get them where they needed to go. Katie slid behind the wheel and smoothed her dress while Travis climbed in the passenger side. "You should let me drive," he said as he buckled his seat belt.

"I'm the one who can legally drive. You should ask Chiron to let you test for your license. You drive really well." She got them on the road and was quiet for a few minutes. "Hey Travis?" She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. When he looked at her she grinned. "Thanks. For doing this. I didn't realize until you showed up how much I really did want to go."

"Anytime, Katie. I'll always be here for you."

She was quiet again for a moment, steeling her nerves. "I Iris-messaged you a couple times. I chickened out though and dissolved it before you could see me. I wanted to apologize. On the quest… I was… I was really scared. Of everything. I took it out on you, and I shouldn't have. I'm really sorry."

Travis reached over and took her hand. He smiled when she didn't pull away. "No worries. We're here now and that's what matters."

They arrived at the school and Katie pulled into a parking space. Travis was out his door before she had the car turned off and raced around to help her out of the car. She smiled at him. "Thanks, Travis. I didn't know you could be such a gentleman."

He laughed and offered her his arm again. As they walked in, Travis noticed that Katie was getting a lot of stares. He grinned.

Katie waved to a few people she knew but didn't stop to talk. She saw a couple of girls whispering, and she could only guess they were wondering just who Katie Gardner had showed up at prom with. She tightened her grip on his arm and gave the girls a wide grin. She led Travis into the gymnasium which was decorated in black, silver and gold. With a mischievous grin, she immediately pulled him to the dance floor where the DJ was playing a dance tune.

As she started to dance, she was surprised to notice that Travis was actually a pretty good dancer. "Where'd you learn to dance?" she asked.

He shrugged. "My mom always said I could keep a beat."

The Stoll brothers didn't talk much about their mom. All anyone really knew was that she died and they ended up at Camp Half-Blood about four or five years ago. "I'd love to hear about her sometime. I bet she was a great person," Katie said.

"She was. I wish you could have met her."

Katie melted a bit inside. "I wish I could have too."

Just then, the DJ switched songs, this time playing a slow one. Travis reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her to him and wrapping his arms around her waist. Katie's hands went automatically around his neck and she smiled. They swayed to the music, quiet for a moment. During the chorus, Travis cleared his throat. "Katie? I… uh… I wanted to… uh… well I wanted…" he sighed. "This isn't going so well."

Katie tilted her head, looking at him inquiringly. "I thought the night was going very well so far."

"The night has been great! Oh gods, Katie, don't think I'm not having fun. I wanted to ask you something." He looked uncharacteristically nervous.

"What is it, Travis?"

"Katie? Would you be my girlfriend?"

She stopped moving and stared at him a moment. She reached up and traced the new scar that ran from his temple to his cheekbone. She remembered how scared she'd been of losing him during that fight. After the explosion. In the beauty salon when Cassiopeia had him charmed. Even in her heels she had to stand on tiptoe to kiss the pale, silvery line. Then she smiled. "Yes, Travis, I will."

He let out a whoop and twirled her around, drawing the stares of those near them. Katie giggled and leaned up to kiss him properly.

As the song came to an end, they went to find a place to sit. "I'm going to get teased by my brothers and sisters when I get to camp next month," she said. "They always said I'd end up with you and I always told them they were wrong."

Travis chuckled. "Well I'm glad you were wrong and they were right." He hugged her to his side.

They spent the rest of the evening dancing and laughing. It was the most fun Katie had had in a long time. She couldn't remember the last time she wasn't worried about some monster or evil taking over the world. It felt good to just let go and enjoy the dance with Travis.

The last song of the night was _Beautiful_ by Christina Aguilera. Travis pulled Katie to him and they swayed together as the song floated around them.

Suddenly, Katie felt a couple drops on her shoulder before the deluge came. The sprinklers high above were raining down on them and the screams of the girls was deafening. The DJ was trying to cover his equipment, most of the girls were running for the door in a panic, crying about their ruined dresses and hair, and the guys were laughing and holding their faces up to the spray.

Katie looked up at Travis; her eyebrow rose as the water pulled the curl from her hair and soaked her dress. He shook his head. "It wasn't me, you've been with me the entire time!" he protested.

She stood there a heartbeat longer, just long enough to make Travis think she was going to blame him anyway when she laughed and grabbed the lapels of his jacket. She pulled him close and lifted her face up, kissing him as the water continued to fall.

In the corner of her consciousness Katie heard a teacher telling everyone to be calm and that they were getting the water to turn off. Katie didn't care. She threaded her fingers in Travis's wet hair and kissed him harder, feeling him pull her closer.

They broke apart as the water was shut off. Rivulets of water streamed down both their faces and Katie reached up to brush the strings of soaking wet hair out of her eyes. They stared at each other, trying to control their breathing as they both grinned.

"Think we'll get any time to hang out at camp before we're saving the world again?" she asked.

"I'll make sure of it, Katie-Rose." He grabbed her hand and pulled it to his lips, kissing it. "I go where you go."

And together, they walked out of the gym, laughing and splashing in the puddles on the floor, hand in hand.

_Chapter title song credit: – Big Night (Big Time Rush; BTR album released 2010)_


End file.
